


like, love, and whatever else in between

by miiniwa



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-01-24
Packaged: 2018-09-19 14:44:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9445988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miiniwa/pseuds/miiniwa
Summary: "No, I mean...more after that," Ritsu says, slightly frustrated now, and he almost sighs."You mean...die?" Mao asks, squinting at him in confusion, because even though he is confident enough to say that he knows his childhood friend quite well, there are still times were Ritsu could still be undeniably perplexing to him."Before that," Ritsu snaps, staring at him in disbelief."Way before that, or at least you'd better hope," Ritsu adds.Mao stares up at the ceiling, thinking hard, before he finally looks back at Ritsu, a defeated expression on his face."I got nothing," he tells him, and Ritsu sighs."Marriage," Ritsu says, blunt.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is more of a two-shot, mostly because i felt like they were both two short to stand as their own fics (aka i got slightly lazy...), so both parts aren't exactly directly related.

Sometimes, after class, Ritsu will find himself falling asleep in certain spots of the school, namely the corner right outside the door leading to the school roof, or within the supply room attached to the gym.

 

 

Days that are cold or rainy are the days where this happens most often, and on that day in particular, Ritsu finds himself slowly waking up amongst the gym supplies, with his head falling onto one of the mats.

 

 

"Ouch..." Ritsu mutters, sitting up before he glances up at the clock, blinking his eyes in quiet surprise when he realizes that he's been there for past an hour already.

 

 

He sighs, reluctantly picking himself up, because he's almost certain that Mao has probably gone home already, and he wonders what type of lecturing text he'll get later on.

 

 

When he finally gets to the front doors of the school, he frowns when he sees that it's still raining outside, which is the reason why he had decided to fall asleep in the first place, since he had left his umbrella at home — a typical scenario.

 

 

He reaches for his phone, wondering whether or not he should call Mao, knowing that he would probably go back to pick him up, but a small bit of him hesitates, somehow reluctant about bothering him, since this had been his own mistake.

 

 

"Oh, I was right."

 

 

Ritsu flinches at the familiar voice, a mostly grateful, and slightly confused feeling in his chest when he turns back and sees Mao, arms crossed and looking at him casually.

 

 

"...Right about what?" Ritsu asks, slowly walking back and away from the rain.

 

 

"I had a feeling that you'd still be hanging around the school somewhere," Mao tells him, honest and blunt.

 

 

_So he actually didn't go home yet_ , Ritsu thinks, vaguely wondering if he'd gotten himself stuck in a dream.

 

 

"What?" Mao asks, tilting his head to the side when Ritsu decides not to say anything.

 

 

"Ah, just glad that I won't have to get wet from the rain now," Ritsu replies, heaving out a long sigh.

 

 

"Hm?" Mao's head tilts to the side even further, and Ritsu frowns.

 

 

"Because you brought an umbrella with you, right?" Ritsu asks him, brows unintentionally furrowing.

 

 

"About that..." Mao starts, and Ritsu dreads whatever he has to say next.

 

 

"I kind of...lent it to Subaru," he says, and for Ritsu, it suddenly feels as if all hope is lost, which is something he doesn't feel too often around Mao.

 

 

"...Guess I'll go back to my resting spot then," Ritsu comments, turning to walk back to the gym, before Mao grabs onto his arm.

 

 

"Wait, wait, wait," Mao sighs, a sarcastic smile on his face.

 

 

"It's a good idea to try and wait for the rain to stop, but let's just camp out in a classroom, okay?" Mao tells him, since that way, they'd be able to look outside the window to see if the rain has stopped or not, and Ritsu could nap in a desk, rather than the floor.

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

"Here, you can use this as a pillow," Mao says, folding up his blazer and handing it over to Ritsu.

 

 

"I'm indebted to you," Ritsu replies, a content glint in his eyes as he accepts the makeshift pillow.

 

 

"Yeah, yeah," Mao says, sighing as he drops down onto one of the desks, quietly watching as Ritsu situates his head on top of the blazer, eyes closing instantly.

 

 

"Are you going to keep watch on the rain?" Ritsu questions, eyes still shut.

 

 

"Someone has to," Mao points out, taking his phone out of his pocket to choose an app to help him pass the time.

 

 

Ritsu is quiet right away, and Mao continues tapping away at his phone, with the rain, the low volume music from his game, and Ritsu's steady breathing being the only sounds in the room.

 

 

Ten minutes later, the rain is still pouring, and Mao sighs, wondering just how long they're going to be in there.

 

 

_Sometimes, it slips my mind just how long I've liked that guy_ , Mao suddenly thinks, glancing over at Ritsu, who is still sound asleep in his spot, and blissfully unaware of the world.

 

 

They're close, that much is obvious, and Mao knows that well. They've done tons of things together since they were children, like siblings, like close friends, and then like people who were more than just friends.

 

 

But there had been some sort of established barrier where Mao knew he wouldn't be able to break through, not that easily anyway. Things like holding hands, hugging, spending days on end together, were things clearly within reach, but blocked away by something like a wall.

 

 

_A slight distance_ , his gaze softens, and his hand slowly clenches into a loose fist before he sighs.

 

 

His eyes wander over towards the window, and he has to blink a few times before he realizes that it's not raining anymore.

 

 

Mao stands up from the desk, eager to go home as he walks over towards Ritsu, whose head is still pressed comfortably against the makeshift pillow made from his blazer.

 

 

Mao bends down so that they're face-to-face, a somewhat nervous expression on as he looks at him, wondering how exactly he should wake him up, and then wondering why exactly he has to think about that in the first place.

 

 

_Just like normal_ , he nods to himself, hand reaching over to shake his shoulder, before Ritsu lifts his head on his own, and Mao's breath catches, realizing just how close they are in proximity.

 

 

_...A slight distance_.

 

 

"Your eyes are really green, Maa-kun," Ritsu comments casually, staring at him.

 

 

"Well, yeah, that's— the color they are," Mao almost stutters, quickly regaining his composure.

 

 

"Oh, it stopped raining," Ritsu notices, looking at the windows.

 

 

"Yeah, so let's hurry and get going before it starts up again," Mao tells him, reaching over to pull him out of his seat.

 

 

"Here, Maa-kun," Ritsu hands him back his blazer, and when Mao puts it back on, he's slightly surprised at how warm it feels.

 

 

"What is it?" Ritsu questions, somehow already at the door, waiting for him.

 

 

"Nothing, just, uh"— His sleeve is particularly warm, probably because it had been one of the parts that Ritsu had happened to lay directly on, and he quickly puts his hand into his pocket.

 

 

"Let's go home," Mao finally says clearly, giving him a small smile as he walks out the door with him, something Ritsu curiously raises a brow at, but says nothing on.

 

 

Thankfully, the rain doesn't come back, and Mao's hand remains in his pocket for the rest of the way home, still holding a little bit of Ritsu's warmth.

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

"You can have this, Maa-kun," Ritsu says, chopsticks lazily placing a few slices of pork into Mao's bowl, something he almost always does whenever they decide to go out and have ramen together.

 

 

"Oh, thanks," Mao replies, already munching on one of the extra slices Ritsu had given him.

 

 

"But really, I think you need the protein more," Mao points out, and Ritsu shakes his head in response.

 

 

"Maa-kun works harder than me, so Maa-kun should have it," Ritsu explains, eating one of the few pork slices he had kept, and Mao rolls his eyes.

 

 

"Well, I guess I'm happy to hear that from you," Mao replies, slurping a mouthful of noodles, before quietly savoring the warmth of it all.

 

 

"But this is what you wanted, am I right?" Mao continues, placing the egg from his bowl into Ritsu's, who looks at it nonchalantly in response.

 

 

"If you insist," he replies, and Mao can't help but smile at him a little.

 

 

"I think this is how it should always be," Ritsu comments, and Mao raises a brow at the sudden statement.

 

 

"What should?" He questions, before eating another large portion of noodles.

 

 

"I'll always give you some of the pork, and you can always give me the egg," Ritsu states, blunt, and Mao begins to wonder if maybe he's been spoiling him a little too much again.

 

 

"Maybe not _always_ ," Mao points out, not expecting to see the confused expression on Ritsu's face.

 

 

"Why not?" He asks, and to Mao, he looks almost like a small child.

 

 

"Well, I mean..." Mao scratches the back of his head, unsure of how to phrase the words, 'we might not always be together in the future,' because even though both of them seemed to assume that that would be a given, the actual reality of it seemed to be much harsher.

 

 

"Are you going to keep being an idol, Maa-kun?" Ritsu asks, and when Mao looks up past his bowl, and sees red, slightly cloudy and sleepy eyes, he realizes that he can't always quite tell what Ritsu is thinking.

 

 

"Honestly, for a while, yeah," Mao tells him.

 

 

"What about you?" Mao continues, grabbing at the chance, because they don't typically go on to talk about the future, and a part of him has always been slightly curious about whether or not Ritsu has had any hidden worries about it all.

 

 

"It's kind of the only thing I know how to do right now," Ritsu shrugs, his chopsticks slowly stirring at the rest of the contents in his bowl.

 

 

"What are you going to do after that?" Ritsu asks, and Mao frowns, because in all honesty, he hasn't exactly thought past that point, not clearly at least.

 

 

"Probably...get a more stable job or go back to school?" Mao responds, trying to gauge whether or not that's the kind of answer Ritsu is looking for, but by the look on his face, he can tell that it's not.

 

 

"No, I mean...more after that," Ritsu says, slightly frustrated now, and he almost sighs.

 

 

"You mean...die?" Mao asks, squinting at him in confusion, because even though he is confident enough to say that he knows his childhood friend quite well, there are still times were Ritsu could still be undeniably perplexing to him.

 

 

" _Before that_ ," Ritsu snaps, staring at him in disbelief.

 

 

"Way before that, or at least you'd better hope," Ritsu adds.

 

 

Mao stares up at the ceiling, thinking hard, before he finally looks back at Ritsu, a defeated expression on his face.

 

 

"I got nothing," he tells him, and Ritsu sighs.

 

 

"Marriage," Ritsu says, blunt.

 

 

For a while, it's quiet, and one part of Mao wants to ask him to repeat himself, while the other part is positive that he had heard him correctly.

 

 

"When Maa-kun gets married, you won't have time for me anymore," Ritsu continues, promptly catching Mao completely off guard.

 

 

"Hey, hey, don't just go marrying me off to some random person," Mao says, laughing in attempts to push it away as a teasing joke for now.

 

 

"But Maa-kun's the type who's really dependable and reliable, so you'll get married for sure," Ritsu says, noticeably sulking now, and Mao stares at him, thoughtful.

 

 

Unexpectedly, he had gotten his answer concerning whether Ritsu had any worries for the future, but he hadn't thought that he himself would be such a significant part of it, and he can't deny that he feels slightly grateful.

 

 

Mao exhales a long sigh, reaching over and patting the top of Ritsu's head.

 

 

"Honestly, you don't have to worry about any of that," he tells him, giving his hair a reassuring ruffle, and Ritsu frowns at him.

 

 

"And why's that?" He asks, still soundly unconvinced.

 

 

"Just trust me on this one," Mao replies, smiling softly at him now, and Ritsu quickly glances away.

 

 

"...Maa-kun's a pervert," Ritsu mutters, and Mao flinches, hand instinctively moving away from him.

 

 

"Says the guy who constantly wants to bite and harass people," Mao snaps back, quick to catch the tiny, fleeting smile on Ritsu's face.

 

 

Mao sighs again, chin resting against his hand now, because in all honesty, when he closes his eyes and imagines himself years away from now, he can see himself sitting at the edge of some backyard patio, with Ritsu sitting casually at his side, and he wonders if Ritsu had somehow known that all along.

 

 

He smiles to himself, a light feeling in his chest when he decides to let his mind think on it clearly, because as he thought, he could definitely see Ritsu in his future, and as he catches onto the fact that Ritsu had thought the same way, it's a simple happiness.

**Author's Note:**

> it's these two _again_ and i wrote about proposals _again_ (i finally read band ensemble the other day and i almost died over it tbh)


End file.
